2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Engine, Tires, & Traction Bars - Project X Diesel

We're using the factory Dodge air-to-air intercooler, so we wanted to add water injection to help us tune in the engine power yet manage the EGT. Matt Snow from Snow Performance came down to Texas to install his Boost Cooler system for us.

The Snow Performance Boost Cooler will inject water from a reservoir into the Cummins intake manifold automatically based on engine load and EGT. The kit comes with a new reservoir, but we plan to tap the factory windshield-washer bottle for ease of installation.

The ATS Diesel exhaust manifold comes with a cast-in boss, where we mounted the EGT probe. You can also see the Nitrous Express carbon fiber nitrous solenoids that will control the two stages of nitrous injection. The first stage is injected on the hot side of the air intake just before the intercooler. The second stage of nitrous feeds the spray bar installed in the ZZ Fabrication intake manifold. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the cylinder head was reinstalled with ARP head studs to ensure head gasket failures wouldn't be an issue.

The key to the Nitrous Express system is the fully programmable progressive controller that lets the user adjust the amount of nitrous injected. We set ours up with a laptop computer to tune in the nitrous in relation to boost pressure.

Even with all the power in the world we weren't going to impress anyone without being able to put it to the ground. For street duty we ordered a set of Diamo 20x10-inch D1 17K cast aluminum wheels with black accents from Wheel Pros and wrapped them in a set of 305/50R20 Nitto NT420S tires.

Running low-profile tires on a heavy diesel truck can be risky because most of the tires on the market are not made to handle the weight of a 31/44-ton truck. That's why we went with the Nittos. In the 305/50R20 size the NT420S tires are load rated to 3,086 pounds apiece and can handle speeds up to 130 mph. We've already racked up over 3,000 miles on ours and have found them to give great grip in the corners yet still ride smooth. As an added bonus, we've found the NT420S are an incredible rain tire.

For all-out traction at the dragstrip we teamed up with M&H tires to test its Racemaster drag radials. We needed a drag tire that would mount on a 17-inch wheel (to fit over the factory brakes). To keep the truck looking good with two different sets of tires, Wheel Pros Set us up with a matching set of 17x10-inch Diamo D1 17K wheels.

Given the power levels (860 hp and 1,655 lb-ft of torque) we plan to play with, M&H recommended we step up to its 390/40R17 tires for maximum bite off the starting line. The overall tire and wheel package is shorter than the 305s up front, but in our testing we've found the traction from the M&H Racemasters is nothing short of amazing. We're running 25 psi of air pressure and do a short burnout in the staging lanes for optimum traction.

Here's where the voodoo must come in. In order to plant our M&Hs and launch the truck with virtually zero tire spin, we removed all but two leaves from the rear spring packs and added these Caltracs traction bars. They are designed to load the rear tires by controlling axlewrap and forcing the instant center of the rear suspension forward. The Caltracs bars were critical to the setup of our truck. If you want to race your diesel pickup, you need Caltracs as part of your rear suspension-or plan on losing to all the guys who have them.

In our next installment of Project X we'll apply our Cummins's earth-dominating torque and take on all comers at Hot Rod magazine's Drag Week. We'll give you a sneak peak of what this truck is capable of when we plug in the Dr. Performance Predator module and Diablo Sport tuner. To date, this truck has run 11.76 at 115 mph in the quarter-mile. Not bad for a 6,300-pound truck you can drive every day!

Project X was built to burn up thousands of miles on the street yet still be ready to assassinate unsuspecting competition at the track. In order to conceal our 15-pound Nitrous Express bottle and drag tires, we called on Downey Products to get its latest Top Spin soft tonneau cover. We've marveled at how versatile this bed cover is. When in place, aluminum side rails work in conjunction with aluminum tubes that span the bed's width to provide a sturdy structure for the smooth vinyl skin. In seconds, the top rolls up and out of the way and is able to unroll quickly and Velcro in place easily without needing two people to wrestle it into position.